Dungeness Crabs!!!

We were out at our favorite fishmarket the other day, and I caved; I finally broke down and bought Dungeness crabs. What a treat! We might make this a regular thing.

Dungeness crabs are found on the Pacific coast from Alaska down to Northern California. They are named after a town in Washington State now known as "Old Town." Only the male of the species is legally harvested for consumption. So much for equal rights. Dungeness crabs have been commercially harvested since the 1880s, and about 40-50 million pounds are sold annually. About 30% of the crabs' weight is edible meat.

Unlike more common crabs served in seafood restaurants (King or Snow), Dungeness crabs have relatively wide bodies and short legs. For this reason, many who are accustomed to the other crab varieties avoid them because those fools mistakenly believe that the legs have the best tasting meat. Those people have never tasted the tender buttery treasures that dwell deep inside the squat, rosy body of the Dungeness. Now, I admit it takes some work, but not as much as you might think. With a little instruction, you will be up to you elbows ans stuffed to the gills (he he) with crabby goodness before you know it. Besides, ripping into a carcass with your bare hands takes us back to the days when we had to do it to survive. Ahhh, nostalgia!

Start with a couple of live crabs, and a couple big pots of boiling water. Make sure each pot is large enough for the crab to fit inside, and deep enough so that the crab will be a couple of inches under the surface of the water. Fill the pots with water and about 1/8 c of salt. Bring the water to a rolling boil.

Once the water is at a full rolling boil, drop in a crab, and set a timer for 12-20 mins (depending on the size - a 2lb crab will take 15 mins). Your crabs will (should) come with their claws tied in rubber bands; leave these on. You don't want to try to handle a 2 lb crab with full use of its claws. Don't feel guilty about dropping a live animal in a pot of boiling water. Remember, if you were in the ocean, it would eat you. If it makes you feel better, throw it in the freezer for about 15 mins before you boil it. It will slow down the crab's metabolism (although, personally I'd rather be boiled alive than frozen). Either way, he won't feel a thing.

While the crabs are boiling away, get an ice bath ready. A big bowl filled with ice water will do (I like them chilled. You can serve them hot, too, but it is a little tricky to clean them).

When the time goes off, pull the crabs out and drop them in the ice bath.

When they are cool, you can start to clean them by placing them on the counter or board facing away from you. At the base of the body on the back-side of the crab you will be able to see where the shell meets the body. Hold the body down against the board, and pull up on the back of the shell. As the shell lifts up, the gills will twist out of the sides of the shell. Once they are free, you should be able to pull the shell off to reveal the gills and internal organs. (Some people save the internal "crab butter" as some kind of delicacy - I'm not a fan. I toss it). Run the crab body under cold water while you pull the gills and organs out of the body "cavity". Pull away the small "fingers" from the mouth area.

Turn the crab over and use your thumb or a pointy object to pry up the wedge-shaped apparatus on the bottom of the body. Pull this off and throw it away.

Now you are ready to dig in! Skip the drawn butter; you won't need it.

Starting with the claws, twist each of the legs away from the body. You should be able to break the armor shield from the bottom of the body, and then break the body into two halves. The tender, sweet crabmeat is inside, arranged in segments like an orange. If you hold the body-half upside down you will be able to see where each of these segments is attached. If you are careful, you can peel away the shell over one segment at a time to reveal the jumbo-lump meat inside. It takes practice and patience, but it is well worth the trouble. Don't forget the wet-naps!

Serve with corn-on-the-cob (since you are already a mess) or homemade seasoned fries. Enjoy!